Introduction
Tuberculosis (TB) is a dangerous respiratory disease that significantly affects public health, healthcare costs, and patient well-being. TB can be associated with low immunity, posing the most significant risk to patients with HIV or AIDS and other chronic diseases, the elderly, and children. Controlling the TB epidemic should be one of the main public health goals. Since TB has a significant negative impact on the financial side of public health, prevention is the most effective method of efficient resource administration.
Respiratory Disease Description
Tuberculosis is a serious respiratory disease that affects the lungs and has a general negative impact on health. The pathophysiology of TB is associated with Koch’s bacillus, a slow-growing bacterium; the ideal environment for this is the lungs (Abo-Zed et al., 2021). TB is spread by airborne droplets, usually requiring long-term contact with an infected person. The risk group includes people with a weak immune system, which is caused by concomitant diseases such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cancer, HIV, or AIDS (Faulhaber et al., 2023). Early infection usually causes no symptoms as the immune system suppresses the disease.
Latent tuberculosis, which does not manifest itself in any symptoms, can go into an open form. The most dangerous type of disease is extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (Sharma et al., 2021). Common symptoms of TB include persistent cough, fever, blood in sputum, chest pain, loss of appetite, and weight loss (Hadiatma & Triyono, 2023). The prognosis for treatment remains positive; with an integrated approach to treatment, the disease, with timely detection, can be eliminated entirely within a year.
Treatment
The terms of treatment, approach, and choice of method depend on the form of tuberculosis, stage, and individual characteristics of the organism: treatment can be medical, surgical, or complex. Medical treatment includes anti-tuberculosis, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory drugs (Hayford et al., 2020). Surgical treatment is used for destructive forms of tuberculosis with late detection of the disease.
Comprehensive treatment combines drug therapy and physiotherapy for better outcomes. The duration of treatment can be up to a year, depending on the severity of the identified stage of the disease (Migliori et al., 2021). During treatment, it is necessary to give up smoking and alcohol, avoid stress, select physical activity together with the attending physician, and review the diet.
A holistic and traditional approach to TB treatment may include inhalations, which are used as additional relief for the patient. Essential oils that activate the body’s immune system can be used for inhalation. Garlic may also be used as an antimicrobial agent.
Herbal decoctions can also contribute to a better and faster recovery. However, treatment of tuberculosis should be carried out exclusively in stationary conditions under the supervision of the attending physician (Kaur et al., 2021). Until recently, TB was deadly, which proves the failure of the holistic approach to the treatment of this disease.
Type of Prevention
Many people with latent TB never develop the active form. People who are infected with the bacteria, people who inject drugs, the elderly, and young children deserve special attention during TB prevention. Primary prevention should include measures to prevent the onset of the disease.
The BCG vaccine is predominantly used for the primary prevention of TB (Fekrvand et al., 2020). It is more effective for children, and its effectiveness for adults is inconsistent. In addition, these measures may include avoiding contact with infected people, wearing a mask in crowded places, washing hands regularly, and observing the rules of etiquette when sneezing and coughing.
Secondary prevention refers to the measures necessary to detect the disease as early as possible. Regular TB screenings may fit into this category of measures. Tertiary prevention should include post-diagnosis care, so the disease does not lead to a fatal outcome. It is necessary to follow the instructions of the attending physician strictly.
In the case of tuberculosis, all three steps of prevention are essential. Primary prevention is paramount to avoid avoidable costs and improve overall health. The most crucial step in prevention is the promotion and widespread use of TB vaccination in the first days of life (Fritschi et al., 2020).
Secondary and tertiary preventive measures are important to slow down the course of the disease and prevent deterioration of the patient’s condition. These steps include raising awareness of the necessary household hygiene practices and promoting regular screenings. Timely treatment in a hospital setting is another important step in achieving the best outcomes for patients diagnosed with TB.
Impact on Society
TB has a significant negative impact on societal well-being and the use of health care resources. In 2021, more than 1.5 million people died from TB, and a significant proportion of those who died had HIV or AIDS as a concomitant disease (WHO, 2022). Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis poses the most significant public health risk. According to preliminary estimates, more than 60 million lives have been saved over the past 20 years due to early diagnosis and timely treatment of TB (WHO, 2022). Tuberculosis is common in all countries of the world, but in modern realities, this disease does not pose a deadly threat with timely treatment.
Prevention and elimination of TB requires significant spending on research, diagnosis, and treatment. As of 2022, more than US$13 billion is needed annually to prevent and treat TB (WHO, 2022). Countries in which there is an epidemic of TB are not able to bear such costs.
At the same time, the world cannot finally overcome TB because of the catastrophic costs and lack of coherence in action. One of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to end TB by 2030 (WHO, 2022). However, this goal can be achieved only by organizing sufficient preventive measures, which are much cheaper than complex treatments.
Conclusion
TB, once considered an incurable and fatal disease, is being successfully prevented, diagnosed, and treated. The primary preventive measure for TB is the BCG vaccination given after birth. The easiest way to treat the disease is with early detection, so regular screenings are also important. Finally, timely outpatient treatment can ensure a patient’s full recovery. Only by following all the necessary preventive measures and raising awareness of the severity of the disease can the goal of fighting TB globally be achieved.
References
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